Friday, March 8, 2013

DC Fish Carryout crack den closed, to become Mexican restaurant

There may be a new Mexican place coming to 14th and Otis. You may remember DC Fish Carryout, the spot at 3475 14th Street NW -- the owner and two other men were convicted of dealing crack out of the restaurant.

The city's alcohol board has scheduled a hearing to revoke their liquor license (and there's a petition calling for such), but that might not be necessary: the other day I walked by and the door was open and there was a lot of work going on, it looked like the inside was being renovated.

I spoke to one of the workers and he said it was going to be a Mexican restaurant, but he didn't know more than that. Northwest Columbia Heights Community Association President Cecilia Jones says the place has changed hands since the crack arrests, so that's a good thing.

I'm a big fan of Mexican food, and that's certainly better than a place that deals crack, but that's also the third Mexican place I can think of in the area -- Taqueria Distrito Federal, El Chucho, and Mama Chuy (all of which you should visit!) I hope they succeed, but that's a lot competition -- and that's not even counting the Salvadoran-Tex-Mex places around or fast casual places like Lime Fresh and Chipotle.

I'm also not sure if the place who it's catered to: maybe Latin American folks like La Cabana or Carolina, the dance club/restaurant at 14th and Spring.

As for DC Fish Carryout, the owner, Suk In Hyun, is out of jail on recognizance and the other two men, Timothy Hill and Craig McKoy, plead guilty and are in prison.